Rebound
by Celli
Summary: A sequel to "Reminders and Regrets." Lex tries to forget Clark, with...surprising results.


Rebound  
by Celli Lane  
  
***  
  
Feedback: celli@fanfic101.com   
Category: Futurefic; humor; smut.  
Rating: R for smut.  
Spoiler: None.  
Pairing: Lex/OFC.  
Summary: A sequel to "Reminders and Regrets." Lex tries to forget Clark, with...surprising results.  
Archiving: Ask and I'll probably say yes.   
Disclaimer: Smallville and its residents belong to Millar Gough Ink, Warner Brothers, DC Comics, and other assorted people with lawyers. Bummer.   
  
Story note: This takes place roughly a month after the breakup scene in "Reminders and Regrets."  
  
***  
  
Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne. The men that Forbes Magazine   
had crowned the American Gods of Finance a few months   
previous. And she was fairly certain they were telling   
dirty stories.  
  
Jayne Benedict sat a table slightly away from theirs (two   
steps back when he walked, two chairs away when he sat) and   
watched her boss and his--friend?--snickering together. It   
made sense; despite the power, the money, and the   
reputations, they were both relatively young. She supposed   
it was nice to talk to someone and not be responsible for   
the food on their table.  
  
Not that she would know. She was administrative assistant   
to Bruce's executive assistant, Carol, which meant she   
barely saw her commander-in-chief most days. Tonight was a   
special "treat." For whom, she wasn't sure.  
  
"They're just going out to eat," Carol had said when she   
told Jayne her evening plans (Budget Gourmet and ER reruns)   
were suddenly being cancelled. "You need to be along in   
case it turns into a business thing. But it won't."  
  
*Right, because she wouldn't take the chance of exposing me   
to actual work,* Jayne thought.  
  
She leaned back as much as her business suit would allow   
and slid a hand up to check her hair. Getting all those   
curls straight enough to smooth into a bun was a pain in   
the ass, and it had been holding since six that morning.   
All the pulling was giving her a headache. But if she took   
it down it'd be kink city. So. She unbuttoned her shirt,   
just one button, *nothing too unprofessional, Carol,* and   
returned to her contemplation of the money men.  
  
Jayne sighed and tried not to think of how long it would be   
until they were done exchanging prep school memoirs and she   
could go home. Her PDA was in front of her, and she looked   
as though she was busy with Wayne Enterprises business. In   
fact, she'd just gotten her 17th high score on Snood. Go   
her.  
  
Mr. Luthor turned his head, and Jayne snapped to attention,   
trying to look businesslike and professional and not bored   
at all, no sir, expecting a query on a spreadsheet, or a   
request for a new fork, or something. Instead, he...he   
smiled at her. His gaze dropped to that one undone button,   
and one eyebrow quirked up.  
  
Jayne goggled at him.  
  
He said something to Mr. Wayne and stood up. Jayne held   
her breath as he brushed past her. But he just kept going.  
  
The bathroom was that way. *Duh.* She sent a guilty   
glance towards Mr. Wayne, but he was obliviously eating his   
steak. She turned back to her PDA, opening up a work   
document out of sheer guilt. She reread a spreadsheet   
she'd memorized the week before. *This is boring.*  
  
"Looks boring," someone said next to her ear, and she all   
but jumped out of her chair.  
  
"Oh! Mr. Luthor! No, it's...um..."  
  
He laughed. Jayne could feel her knees melting. Damn the   
man anyway; he already had money and good clothes, did he   
really need a voice that was like sex in a bottle? She   
didn't think so. But she didn't have to react like a   
twelve-year-old. She ignored the voice in her head telling   
her to talk business and flipped back to Snood.  
  
"Not boring in the slightest," she said with all the   
sarcasm she could command, and looked up to see a grin   
flash across his face.  
  
*Wow,* Jayne thought, but smiled back without too much   
geekitude. She hoped. She started breathing again as he   
walked back to his seat.  
  
***  
  
Jayne was still recovering from her brief encounter with   
Mr. Luthor when the evening ended. She trailed her boss   
back to his limo. Her Jetta was parked nearby. It was a   
nice little car, or would be if it weren't in the random   
proximity of a limo.  
  
*There's a metaphor there.* She glared at the Jetta.   
*Stupid metaphor. Stupid car.*  
  
She leaned against the trunk and waited for the limo to   
roar off. God forbid she leave first; Mr. Wayne might   
conceive a sudden desire for last quarter's dividends at--  
she checked her watch--one-frickin'-thirty in the morning,   
and she'd never hear the end of it.  
  
The sky was pretty tonight. No stars, not in Gotham, not   
ever, but today's smog had turned it a lovely deep blue.   
The buildings and streetlights beneath made it look vaguely   
Van Gogh-ish. "Starry, starry night," she said to herself.  
  
"Penny for your thoughts?"  
  
She jolted. "Mr. Luthor!" She looked back towards the   
limo, but it was pulling away. "Uh..."  
  
"What are you looking at so intensely?"  
  
"Just...the sky. Mr. Luthor, aren't you supposed to be in   
the limo?"  
  
"I told Bruce I'd walk. What about the sky?"  
  
"Walk? In Gotham? In the middle of the night?"  
  
He sauntered towards her, and a million Discovery Channel   
specials came to mind. *The rare American billionaire   
stalks its prey...* She swallowed.  
  
He stopped a few feet from her to look back up at the sky.   
"It is nice. Nothing like the Metropolis skyline. Kind of   
like a Van Gogh painting."  
  
"Yes!" She beamed at him before remembering who he was.  
  
"Metropolis would be...more like an early Monet, maybe."  
  
"Right. So why are you walking again?"  
  
"I'm not." He turned the full force of his smile on her.   
"I lied."  
  
"Um...oh." *Get a grip, Jayne.* "Calling a cab? Buying a   
new car? Stealing one?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"I'm crushed. You don't want to give me a ride?"  
  
"Mr. Luthor--"  
  
"Lex." He held his hand out. "And I don't believe Bruce   
introduced you."  
  
"That's because he doesn't know my first name."  
  
"Really?" He pulled his hand back.  
  
"That's okay. He doesn't know his regular assistant's   
first name either, and she's worked for him for five   
years."  
  
He thought for a second. "Carol, right?"  
  
"Yeah," she said, surprised.  
  
"So why doesn't he just ask her name?"  
  
"He doesn't want to know. It's a Mr. Wayne...thing."  
  
Mr. Luthor--Lex--*Mr. Luthor* smirked. "Yeah, I believe   
that."  
  
"Well, good. Because I have better things to lie about   
than my boss's neuroses."  
  
A startled second, and then Lex actually laughed. Jayne's   
knees started to melt again. No. Bad knees! Boss's   
business partner. *Stupid knees.*  
  
"You're absolutely right." He took her hand in his. "And   
now you have to tell me your name."  
  
"Jayne. Jayne Benedict."  
  
"A pleasure." And he actually, honest to God kissed her   
hand.  
  
Jayne swayed against the car. "Sure," she squeaked.  
  
"Jayne, would you mind greatly giving me a ride back to my   
hotel?"  
  
*Please God, please God, pleeeease let him want to have sex   
with me.* "Okay."  
  
***  
  
Driving was...difficult. Her Jetta was not built for size   
anyway, and Mr., um, Lex tended to take up all the   
available space. Jayne kept sucking in the breaths, but   
she wasn't sure the oxygen was actually connecting with her   
lungs.  
  
"So," she said cheerfully, about three blocks into the   
drive, "why are you hitting on me exactly?"  
  
After a pause that had her stomach tied in even more knots,   
Lex said, "Shouldn't I be?"  
  
"Well..." Jayne smoothed her hair back. "I'm cute and   
all, but you're Lex Luthor."  
  
"I hadn't noticed."  
  
She rolled her eyes and concentrated on shifting. Although   
Armani-clad knees were beginning to take on a new eroticism   
for her. She added it to the mental list of "Things to   
Bring Up in Therapy" and forged ahead. "I'm just saying,   
You don't seem like the kind to...ah..."  
  
"Fuck the help?"  
  
She accidentally shifted into second instead of fourth.   
The car rocked. "Shoot! Sorry. Yeah. Um, that." When   
she snuck a look over at him, he was smiling, but he didn't   
truly look amused. "Just that--don't you have a European   
princess on speed-dial or something?"  
  
"The *Inquisitor* retracted that article."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Another long pause. Then Lex said, "You didn't really look   
like the kind to expect love at first sight."  
  
"Hell, no." She snuck another look. "Lust, though," she   
said hopefully.  
  
She could see the corners of his mouth twitching. "It was   
that damned button of yours."  
  
"My what?"  
  
A rush of air and fabric as he moved closer, and Jayne   
nearly swallowed her tongue as he flicked a finger against   
her collarbone. "When you unbuttoned that button. I don't   
know. It made you look..." He leaned into her, and the   
breathing thing? So not happening. "Disheveled. I wanted   
to dishevel you some more."  
  
"Ohhhhh." She hoped there weren't any other cars on the   
road, because she might not actually be in a lane. "Okay."  
  
It took another mile for her brain to kick in. Okay, this   
walking sex thing was nice, but she felt like a blow-up   
doll. In fact, the average blow-up doll probably   
contributed more to the conversation than she had. If she   
was going to have a one-night stand with Lex Freaking   
Luthor--and she really, really, really wanted to--then damn   
it, she was going to be memorable.  
  
The rest of the drive was very silent, but Jayne's mind was   
very busy.  
  
***  
  
Lex allowed Jayne to precede him through the door.  
  
She stood in the middle of the room, taking in the decor.   
Lex didn't bother to follow her gaze; it was a hotel room,   
who cared? He looked at her instead. She was maybe half a   
foot shorter than him, respectable curves showing from   
beneath a severe business suit, wavy hair hinting at the   
edges of a tight auburn bun. She turned back from her   
survey of the room and met his eyes. Her hands went to her   
hips. Lex stifled a grin. He'd seen that expression   
before...usually right before someone threw a drink at his   
head.  
  
"So, you should know something," she said.  
  
"Drink?" He dropped the room key on the nearest flat   
surface and went to find the minibar.  
  
"Huh? No. Um, you should know something."  
  
"You said that already." He dug out a bottle of water and   
took a long swig while he loosened his tie. He saw her   
blink several times, but he wasn't sure if she was staring   
at the water or the tie. Hardly mattered. "I assume you   
have ground rules, or some such..." Nonsense.   
"Conditions?"  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "Look, Mister--dammit, Lex," she   
snapped.  
  
He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"You're cute. You're rich. You're sex on a stick. I get   
it. Really."  
  
Sex on a stick? If he raised his brows any further, he was   
going to sprain a forehead muscle. But she just kept   
going.  
  
"I won't deny that standing next to you makes me enjoy   
being a girl. But however happy you make my ovaries, I am   
not going to be..." She broke off, and ran a hand through   
her hair. "Convenient."  
  
"Convenient." Lex watched her careful bun tumble around   
her shoulders. God, it wasn't auburn, it was full red, and   
curlier than anything. His palms itched. He ignored them.   
"As opposed to what, precisely?"  
  
"As opposed to...dammit, I sound like a moron."  
  
"No, I liked the part about being sex on a stick."  
  
Jayne got about half a laugh out before she stopped   
herself. "Right. Right." She plopped down on the bed,   
and ran her hands through her hair again. "God, this hurts   
when it comes down. My point, silly as it may be, is that   
you're not doing me a--a--favor. Okay? I'm in the room   
too."  
  
He crouched down next to the bed--he didn't have to go far,   
the beds in these damn penthouses came almost to his hip--  
and ran his finger over that undone button that had   
fascinated him so in the restaurant. "So you're saying   
this is mutually convenient."  
  
"Um, yes." Her voice was shaky, but she met his eyes, and   
moved deliberately as she undid the next button. "That's   
exactly what I'm saying. Lex."  
  
He dropped his hand to catch hers. "All right, then." Her   
hand was small and soft, and she had chipped nail polish.   
He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "Mutual convenience   
it is."  
  
The feel of her mouth against his was almost shocking. He   
hadn't kissed anyone since--*fuck*--for a while, and the   
shape of it, the taste of lipstick, the smells of perfume   
and hairspray, were unnerving. He slid his hands into her   
hair, feeling her wince as he brushed against tender spots   
on her skull left over from the tight bun. It took   
conscious effort to gentle his hands, rubbing her scalp,   
and he was rewarded with a humming sound that made him   
smile against her lips.  
  
Time to dishevel her some more. Time to dishevel her a   
lot.  
  
***  
  
A silent room. ("Why do we need music, Clark? I want you   
to hear what you do to me.")  
  
Clothes scattered next to the bed. ("Did you just tear my   
shirt?" "You can buy a new one.")  
  
A naked body beneath him.  
  
Um.  
  
A naked *female* body beneath him.  
  
Fuck.  
  
Lex dragged his brain back into the present. *Beautiful   
female body, Lex. Pay attention.* He kissed her jawline,   
her neck, her shoulder, scraping his teeth along her skin   
until she shuddered under him. *Better,* he thought smugly.   
He rocked against her--  
  
--and both he and Jayne froze and looked down at the same   
time.  
  
"Oh dear," she said in a particularly high-pitched tone.  
  
"If you laugh I'll--I'll--oh, *fuck,*" Lex snarled. He   
pushed off her and squirmed until he was as far away from   
her as he could get and still be on the bed.   
  
"Lex?"  
  
Regroup, regroup. Reassess the situation, refocus the   
discussion...and Lionel Luthor's voice was the last thing   
he needed in his head right now. "It's not you. I'm just-  
-" He couldn't think of a single thing to say. Sun Tzu   
never mentioned this. "This was a bad idea. You should   
probably leave."  
  
He looked pointedly out the window and waited.  
  
"Hey. Um, Lex?"  
  
He didn't answer.  
  
She smacked him on the shoulder.  
  
"Hey!" He jerked his head over to glare at her, and--she   
was about an inch away, glaring back until her eyes nearly   
crossed.  
  
"I'm still here, buddy."  
  
"Why? I can't--you know--"  
  
"Get it up?"  
  
"No, really. Go away." He dropped his head back down.   
"Now."  
  
"Don't make me hit you again, Luthor."  
  
"Is it the go or the away that's not translating into your   
language?"  
  
"Do you want the little speech about how it isn't the end   
of the world and you're much too manly for it to ever ever   
happen again?"  
  
"Fuck, no."  
  
"How about the one where you're a multijillionaire and you   
could buy a new dick if you had to?"  
  
He was not going to laugh. He wasn't. He glared at her   
again.  
  
She pulled a pillow under herself--hiding an amazing pair   
of breasts from view, which disappointed him on an   
aesthetic level if nothing else--and balanced her chin on   
her hands. "Well, *I* came for meaningless sex, and I'm   
not leaving without it. So deal."  
  
Lex made a noise that in a lesser man might have been a   
laugh. He settled into his pillow, mimicking her position.   
"Look, I just ended...I'd guess you'd call it a   
relationship. Badly."  
  
"Can you end a relationship well?"  
  
He thought back. "I can't, anyway. Creatively, but not   
well."  
  
She grinned. "I like the sound of that."  
  
"I used to," Lex said, and was disgusted at the hollowness   
of his own voice. *Now you're picking up random women to   
play therapist. Get a life.*  
  
*Had one,* his subconscious replied. *Fucked it up.   
Thanks for asking.*  
  
*So what are you planning to do about it?*  
  
He grabbed Jayne and kissed her.  
  
"...umph!" she said. When he let her up for air, she said,   
"Uh, I thought we weren't..."  
  
"Maybe I'm not," he said. "But I still have manners." He   
shoved the sheet aside. "And fingers."  
  
"Go you," she managed before his mouth landed on hers   
again.  
  
Lex concentrated on everything about her that was new and   
different and female. She had cream-colored skin, with a   
line of sweat that tempted his mouth between her breasts;   
she kept up a running monologue of complete nonsense   
whenever her mouth wasn't busy fellating his bare head; and   
the first time he licked the inside of her thigh, she   
bucked off the bed so hard she clipped him on the jaw.  
  
And surprise, surprise, eventually there was a need for the   
condoms in the nightstand table after all. Sometime after   
her second orgasm, Lex watched Jayne break into a grin,   
heard her say something about "mutual convenience after   
all," and then he slid into her, and oh God, girls were a   
completely different feeling, he remembered that now.  
  
"Damn," he said into her mouth before all verbal skills   
deserted him entirely.  
  
***  
  
It was the lack of sound that woke Jayne up. Her usual   
mornings consisted of clanging pipes from her roommate   
using the bathroom, and thumps overhead from the upstairs   
neighbor's kids, who apparently treated their stairs like   
mogul ski jumps.  
  
She sat up, yawning, and listened. A muffled, steady sound   
that must be a nice shower. Right, a nice hotel shower.  
  
Nice hotel room.  
  
Sex with Lex Luthor.  
  
Oh boy.  
  
The shower noises stopped, and Lex came out, gloriously   
naked. Not being an idiot, Jayne looked her fill.  
  
"The bathroom's yours if you want it," he said as he walked   
to the clothes laid across one chair. Navy blue briefs,   
black pants, a silk shirt so light blue it was nearly gray.   
"There's a hairdryer and towels in there."  
  
A minute later, he looked up. "Jayne?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Aren't you going to take a shower?"  
  
Her bladder was about to explode, her mouth was so morning   
breath-ed over she was sure her teeth were sticking to each   
other, and her hair was wild, she could feel it. But Lex   
was standing there, barefoot, those pants clinging to his   
butt, that shirt untucked and unbuttoned as he fastened the   
cuffs, and..."Huh?"  
  
He laughed and crossed to the bed, dropping a kiss on her   
hastily-closed lips. "Not a morning person, are you?"   
While she was still blinking at him, he jerked the covers   
away. "Go. Shower."  
  
It was hard to be dignified with a half-naked billionaire   
chasing your entirely-naked self into a bathroom. So Jayne   
didn't even bother trying.  
  
***  
  
"Nice suit," Carol said.  
  
Jayne yawned. "Huh? Oh, yeah." She looked down at the   
black jacket and skirt that had magically appeared in the   
bedroom while she was showering. And the deep blue blouse,   
exactly the color of last night's sky. "It was a gift."  
  
"From whom?"  
  
"A boyyyyy," Jayne said, drawing it out until Carol   
grimaced. She yawned again.  
  
"Late night?"  
  
*Pompous pain in the ass.* "Sort of. Mr. Luthor wanted to   
explore" *my body* "some of the stockholder issues he needs   
to research for this deal."  
  
"So he asked you?"  
  
"I was there."   
  
Carol huffed; obviously that wasn't going to happen again.   
"So, were you able to help him?"  
  
"Well, he cleared up a lot of issues for me." Jayne hid a   
snicker behind another yawn.  
  
"Yes, but did you help *him?*"  
  
Jayne looked over to the conference room, where she could   
see Mr. Wayne and, um, Mr. Luthor passing papers back and   
forth. Lex looked up; when his gaze met hers, he smiled   
slightly, but only slightly. "I don't know. I tried."  
  
A tray clattered onto the desk in front of her. "Take   
their coffee in. And button that top button. You look   
unprofessional."  
  
She took the tray but left the button alone. Mr. Wayne   
excused himself as she stepped into the room, but she fixed   
his coffee from memory. "Cream, Mr. Luthor?"  
  
"No, black." He lowered his voice. "I like your button."  
  
She made sure her back was to the door and grinned at him.   
"Carol hates it. She's asked me to button it three times   
already this morning."  
  
He looked over at the door, where Carol was hovering and   
glaring at Jayne. "I could have her fired, you know.   
Bruce owes me a favor."  
  
Jayne rolled her eyes. "You know, most men just send   
flowers the next day."  
  
"I'm not most men."  
  
"Yes, but no. I'll get her job on my own, thank you very   
much." She handed over the coffee.  
  
He spoke again when she was almost at the door. "Jayne.   
Thank you for the coffee."  
  
"You're welcome, Mr. Luthor."  
  
***  
  
Author's notes: Many, many thanks to the "real" Jayne, who   
*ahem* inspired me in the first place and was kind enough   
to beta her own anti-Mary Sue. And to Robin, who loves me   
even though I overuse the ellipsis.  
  
The Van Gogh painting Jayne and Lex refer to is indeed   
called "Starry Night" and can be seen here:   
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/p_0612.htm  
  
The "early Monet" that inspires Lex's comment looks like   
this:   
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/early/roches-  
noires/roches-noires.jpg 


End file.
